This Is For Real
by DinosaurNothlit
Summary: A story that all of us know so well began with a typewriter, a quasi omnipotent being, and a very elusive name.  AU.  Read and review!
1. Writer's Block

"My name is"

I stared at the nearly blank page in my typewriter, trying to come up with the next word. A name. My main character needed a name. It should be short, but emphatic. A single syllable would be best. Something that sounded important, like a leader, but not too important. A commanding name, but not a pretentious one.

I was searching for the name of a character in my story, but at the same time, so much more. I knew what was coming. I felt the need to warn the people of earth about their future. Of course, it was against the rules of the game to warn them directly. I could only leave hints and clues.

But writing stories, and passing my work off as fiction, was well within the rules.

That is why I had taken a human form, and even a human name. Katherine. For years I have lived as a middle-aged human female, searching for inspiration. Inspiration to write what needed to be a fundamentally human story.

I drummed my human fingers against the keys of the typewriter, thinking of names. John? No, too common. Jeff? No, too 'adult.'

It seemed strange. I, the Ellimist, a being who knew how to alter time and manipulate space, was at a loss for ideas in a fictional universe.

But then again, writing was much like music. It required so much more than just knowledge or power. There was something else there, a certain beauty in the words written on the page. It was up to me to capture that beauty in words of my own.

A name suddenly came to me. Yes, it was perfect. I punched four keys on the typewriter, finishing the first sentence.

Chik chik chik chik.

"My name is Jake"

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Yeah, this was just a short little musing about my thoughts of the true identity of Katherine Applegate. Hope you liked it.

Katherine owns the Ellimist, Jake, and herself. Got it?


	2. I'll Take the Animorphs

By request, I'm adding a part two to "Writer's Block." There might be a part three. I dunno yet; I hadn't even originally intended to write a part two.

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I was forced, by the expectations of my 'fellow' humans, to complete my Animorphs book series in mere months. A blink of an eye for a being such as I. But, by the end, I was very proud of my work. It was just the right mix of realism and fantasy. The characters human enough to be believable, but their circumstances extraordinary enough to capture interest.

And so, too, did I mix truth with fiction. I could not see the future with complete certainty. No one can. I knew only that the Yeerks would eventually come to earth.

Did I really think that a dying Andalite prince would offer the crown jewel of Andalite technology to five human youths? No. It would be highly improbable, even with my interference.

But I knew that my story had to appeal to the human need for uniqueness, and that was found in my characters, the Animorphs. The Animorphs were unique, because they alone shouldered the burden of fighting the Yeerks. 'They are alone, they are unique, they are special. This is what you can be if you resist the Yeerks,' was the message of my story.

And within each Animorph I placed some of the most basic archetypes that humans saw in themselves. Jake, the reluctant leader haunted by his decisions. Rachel, the reckless warrior who grows to love the war. Tobias, the sad _nothlit_ who is never quite sure who or what he really is. Cassie, the tender, gentle girl who manages never to forget what it is she's really fighting for. Marco, the cunning, stratigizing jokester, who always manages to see the things others miss. And even Aximili, the alien who never quite fits in, who hovers in limbo between two peoples. For almost every sort of human being, there is an Animorph in whom they would see parts of their selves. With whom they could identify. And this is what keeps humans reading.

But, of course, the Animorphs' story was not merely written to be a captivating read. It contained bits of truth. The Yeerks' weaknesses. Their mindset, their culture. Their enslaved species, the Hork-bajir and the Taxxons. The limitations of the morphing power, on the improbable chance that any human would ever manage to gain such power.

My decision to write Tobias as a _nothlit_ was a difficult one. I came to love all my characters as if they were real. Perhaps all good writers feel this way. I hated the thought of anything bad happening to them. But Tobias served an important purpose. His fate served as an example of the most dangerous limitation of the morphing technology. At the same time, Tobias was a message of hope. If you can manage to find the blue box, the mystical morphing cube, you can become something else and escape from the dreariness of your human life.

But never make the mistake of thinking you can escape from yourself, or you will be like Tobias. Stuck between the life he left behind as a human, and the life he can never have as a true hawk.

As I neared the end of the series, writing became even harder. I had to show my readers what would happen if any warrior becomes too focused on the war. Rachel began to descend further and further into brutality. Jake lost his family to the Yeerks, and so lost sight of what he had been fighting for in the first place. Not the world, but individual lives. Cassie began to lose her clear focus on right and wrong, and her simple innocence began to slip as she, too, became more and more focused on the 'big picture.'

Save the world. Any action can be justified by such a grandiose goal. And suddenly, it was all too easy to justify the unjustifiable.

It made me sad to write them that way. But I had to let the Animorphs' example serve as a lesson to any Yeerk resistances that my story might inspire. This is what will happen if you become too dedicated to your cause. At all costs, remember what you are fighting for.

At the very end of the series, I made my most difficult decision of all. To kill Rachel.

I cannot say that she was my favorite Animorph. I never chose favorites. All the same, I did not want her to die.

Yet I felt I had no choice. Better to write the death of a fictional character than to watch helplessly as actual, living humans make the same mistake that Jake and Rachel did. The unforgivable mistake of fighting wars for entire planets, without thought to single, individual lives.

I ended the series on a cliffhanger. I wanted to convey the sense that it wasn't over. Perhaps it never would be.

I finally stepped away from the typewriter, saying my own goodbyes to the Animorphs. I left my corporeal, human self, and returned to the realm outside of space and time.

"It is a good story, Ellimist," Crayak said to me upon my return. "You haven't lost your talent for fabrication. But it is hardly what I would call plausible. Five human children and an Andalite against the Yeerk empire? The Animorphs would never actually win."

I smiled slyly, sensing a dare. "Are you so certain? Then let us play a little game, Crayak. I'll take the Animorphs, if you choose to accept."

"Gladly," Crayak answered. "Let us play, Ellimist."


	3. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 (Tobias)

My name is Tobias.

And, you know, it's kind of funny, my name. It's funny how there could be some obscure character in some obscure book with the very same name. A pretend person who's lived my life, thought my thoughts. They could be _me_, for all intents and purposes. Every last detail of our lives, the same.

And you know what's really funny? It's funny that I could have so easily gone on living in ignorance forever. There was no way I would ever know about the _other_ Tobias until I actually happened to pick up that particular book.

That's why, when I just happened upon a long-forgotten paperback in a cardboard 'give away' box at the library, my life suddenly turned in a new direction.

Animorphs was the name of it. The Invasion. I'd heard of it, long ago. Animorphs had apparently been a big fad at one point, but I hadn't heard anything about the series in years.

I sat down on a bench near the library and began to read. I had nothing better to do, after all. It was either read a long-forgotten book series, or go home to face my uncle.

I'd take the book, any day.

I didn't think too much of it at first. The book was about a bunch of kids who came across a dying alien in a construction site, and received the power to turn into any animal they touched. Then they would have to use this power to fight another alien race that was trying to take over earth. An okay premise, but not too terribly different from what's been done hundreds of times before in other science fiction series.

I noticed that one of the characters had the same name as me. But, of course, that wasn't any big thing. Tobias isn't all that rare a name.

But then it was mentioned that this other Tobias had a cat named Dude. My cat's name was Dude.

Tobias never knew who his father was. I never knew my father.

Tobias's mother left him. My mother left me.

Tobias was shuttled back and forth between an aunt on one coast and an uncle on the other. So was I.

It was too much coincidence.

Something was wrong.

But what? What the heck could possibly be going on? I sure didn't think the Animorphs author had been spying on me. That would be totally ridiculous. I didn't think for a minute that I was that important, that some hotshot author would particularly care about my life.

What, then? Was the author some kind of psychic, or prophet, or something? That was even more ridiculous than the idea that it was all just coincidence.

It probably _was_ just coincidence. There was simply nothing else it could be.

I finished the book in a couple hours, and reluctantly got up from the bench.

As much as I wished it wasn't coincidence, deep down, I knew that's all it was. A wishful fantasy, on my part. See, I wanted to be that other Tobias. I wanted to turn into a red-tailed hawk and escape all the troubles of my life.

But, of course, I knew all of it was impossible. The stupid little daydream of a self-pitying kid who didn't want to face cold hard facts.

I stuffed the book in my backpack, swung the pack over my shoulder, and headed for the bus stop. Time to face reality, Tobias.

I really ought to know better than to put too much faith in a fantasy.


	4. Chapter 2

Thank you to everyone who's reviewed this story so far! Otempora42, your review came just at the right time to prompt me to get back to work on this story, so kudos to you. Your first Animorphs-fandom review was not in vain!

In other news, I finally found a new title. If it sounds familiar, it's because it's actually a quote from Marco in book one.

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Chapter 2 (Jake)

The bell rang for class to be over. I packed up my books, and headed for the door. Marco followed me, but he split away from me when I headed to the restroom. "See ya later," he said, waving goodbye.

We're guys. When one of us goes to the bathroom, the other doesn't necessarily stick around.

I stepped into the bathroom, but froze when I saw the scene. I briefly considered just turning around and walking back out. I'm not particularly good at dealing with people, especially strangers, and especially when they were hurt and crying. But something kept me there.

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked the kid who was lying sprawled on the floor, sobbing softly. He looked up suddenly, surprised that I was there, and obviously embarrassed that he'd been caught crying. He had messy blond hair, and the area under his nose was caked with dried blood. I could see bruises on his arms. On the floor around him was a mess of shredded paper. As he picked up one of the pages in a trembling hand and stared mournfully at it, I suddenly realized that he wasn't crying just because he was hurt.

It was pretty easy to see what had happened. It looked like some bullies had caught this kid reading some book they didn't approve of, so they'd ripped the book apart and beat him up. Our school had a bit of a bully problem, so that sort of thing wasn't exactly a rare occurrence.

Poor kid, he looked like he had really liked that book. To the point that he didn't even seem to care that _he_ was hurt.

"This book . . . they destroyed . . . oh my God, it was _real_! That . . . in the book . . . was _me_!" he managed to stutter, his voice still choked with emotion that he was obviously trying hard to conceal. I had no clue what he was talking about.

Looking around, I saw what had been the cover of the book. I picked it up. 'Animorphs' was apparently the title. I had absolutely no idea what that was, I'd never heard of any book called Animorphs. The cover illustration was weird. Some blue centaur thing, turning into a hawk. Or maybe it was the other way around? There was a faded-out kid in the background, behind the hawk-blue-thing transformation sequence, and the funny thing was, that kid looked an awful lot like the kid that was on the floor in front of me. Towards the bottom of the cover, it said 'The Illusion.'

I handed the cover to the kid, and he looked at it longingly. But he was getting himself under control, now. "I'm Tobias," he said, sounding apologetic for his outburst.

"I'm Jake."

When I said my name, Tobias jerked like I'd just stuck a cattle prod in his ear. He practically jumped to his feet, eyes wide, staring at me like he'd seen a ghost. Then he looked me up and down, as if he couldn't quite believe that my name was actually Jake, and getting a better look at me would somehow confirm the fact.

His weird behavior was freaking me out. I took a step or two back.

"Sorry," he said, realizing that he was making me nervous. But he was still very visibly excited. "Um, wow. Okay. Uh, you don't happen to have an older brother named Tom, by any chance, do you?"

I nodded. Everybody seemed to know my brother, and of course I look a lot like him. What was going on with this kid? Why did he care that I was Tom's brother?

"Okay, well, um, let's see . . . do you have a dog named Homer? Golden retriever, right? And is your best friend's name Marco? And cousin named Rachel?"

"What is this, twenty questions?" I asked, confused. "Yes, to all those. Do you have a point, or are you just demonstrating how much you know about my life?" I raised a suspicious eyebrow. "You haven't been stalking me, have you?"

"What? No!" Tobias said. "It's just that . . . look. Um, this is going to sound really crazy, but I read all that stuff about you in a book."

I looked down at the Animorphs book cover he still held in his hand. "That book?" I asked skeptically, still trying to figure out what this was all about. It was sounding more and more like this kid was not only a stalker, but mentally unbalanced in other ways, too.

"Not just this one," Tobias said excitedly. He seemed to be recovering quickly from his earlier distress. "It's a whole book series! I'm in it, you're in it, and so are Rachel and Marco and Cassie. You know Cassie, right?" Tobias then smiled knowingly, like he knew something about me and Cassie. "Of course you know Cassie, you have a crush on her, don't you?"

"How do you know about that!?" I demanded, appalled. I had only ever told that to Marco! "My God, if you've tapped my phone line, I swear I'll-"

"I already told you, I'm not a stalker," Tobias said defensively. "It's all there, in the books."

"Uh huh," I said, unconvinced. "Some fiction writer _just happened _to write a character that's exactly like me. What's the chance of that?"

"I know, I didn't believe it at first, either," Tobias said brightly. "But . . . I think it's true, Jake. The character in this book, and his name is Tobias too, he's exactly like me. He _is_ me. He had flashbacks of things that _I_ remember! There's no way it can all be coincidence!"

"Look, nice to meet you and all, but I'm just going to walk away now," I said, eager now to get out of there. Something about the way Tobias was talking to me was seriously weirding me out. "I'm going to pretend I never met you, okay? Let's both just forget this ever happened." Before he could say anything, I turned around and walked out of the bathroom. Fast.

"Hey, wait!" he called after me. He started after me, chasing me down the almost empty hallway. I broke into a run. I could hear from his footsteps that he was running, too.

Suddenly, something hit me on the back of my head. Hard. "Ow!" I shouted, bringing a hand up to rub the spot. Whatever it was he'd thrown at me had fallen to the floor behind me with a thud. I glanced down. Another book. This one said Animorphs on it too, but it showed a guy's head turning into a lizard. It's weird, but I could've sworn the guy looked exactly like me.

As I stopped running to pick up the book, Tobias stopped, too. "Just read it!" he shouted at me. "It'll change your life!"


	5. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 (Marco)

It was a perfectly normal afternoon. They always start out that way, don't they?

I was hanging out in the mall, waiting around for Jake to show up. We were supposed to meet up at the arcade after school, but I think Jake had something he had to deal with, first. At least, that's what he'd told me.

"Hey Marco!" a voice called from across the food court. _Finally!_ I thought. I looked in the direction of the voice, and saw Jake, weaving his way through the tables, making his way towards me.

"Hey Jake! What took you?" I asked as he made his way over to me. The moment I'd asked the question, though, I saw the answer. Jake was holding a book, looking like he'd just been reading it. I groaned. I had a feeling I knew what book it was. You see, a couple weeks ago, Jake told me he'd met this total nutcase of a kid, crying in the restroom over a ripped-up book. Long story short, this kid thought that both he and Jake were characters in a book series, and the incident ended with the lunatic throwing a book at the back of Jake's head.

"Jake, please don't tell me that's the book the weird kid brained you with."

Jake sighed. "Yeah, it is. I know what you're thinking. But, well, I was really bored in study hall today." He shrugged. "I honestly had nothing better to do. So I figured, what the heck, and started reading. And it's actually not a half bad book," he said. I responded with a dubious look, one of my eyebrows raised. "Don't worry, I don't think any of it's real," he added quickly. Then he paused. "But . . . "

"But nothing, Jake," I said. "What's-his-name that gave you that book-"

"Tobias?"

"Yeah, him. Whatever. He was crazy. And you do not believe any of what he told you. Got it?"

"Yeah, I know. He was crazy. But-"

"Ah ah ah! No but."

Jake scowled. But then he looked down at the book, thumbing through the pages.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Showing you something," he replied. "I'm not saying it's real, I'm just saying that this book has some really creepy coincidences. That's all."

He pointed where he wanted me to read.

"'Suddenly Marco just went ballistic,'" I read aloud. "Marco? There's a guy named Marco in this story, too? Huh. What do you know."

"Yeah," Jake affirmed. "Keep reading."

"Suddenly Marco just went ballistic. 'We could get killed!' he yelled. 'Don't you get it? You saw what happened to that Andalite. I mean, this is radical stuff, Jake. This is for real. Real! We could all get killed,'" I read. I shrugged. "Okay, so there's some guy named Marco who's going off about not wanting to get himself killed. Sounds like a smart guy, but that could easily just be a coincidence."

"Read some more," Jake insisted. He pointed at another part of the page. "Read that paragraph."

I kept going. Now I wasn't so much reading aloud as whispering. I felt incredibly stupid standing there reading in the middle of a crowded mall. "Two years ago, Marco's mom died. She drowned. They never even found her body," I mumbled.

I stopped for a second, as it suddenly hit me what I was saying. Whoa. Jake was right. That was one heck of a coincidence. My mom had drowned, two years ago, and they never found her body, either. "Marco's dad lost it big time," I went on. "He totally fell apart. He quit his job as an industrial engineer because he couldn't handle being around other people. Now he was working as a night janitor, making barely enough to support Marco. He spent his days sleeping or watching TV with the sound off." By the time I was done reading, I felt like I couldn't breathe. That was an exact, perfect description of what had happened to my own father when my mom passed away.

That was too much coincidence. A kid named Marco, with a two-years drowned mother, and a former-engineer now-janitor father? And, let's be honest, how many dads spent their days 'watching TV with the sound off,' like my father did?

I really wanted to tell Jake he was as crazy as that Tobias kid. I wanted to believe that it was all just a coincidence. I wanted to yell at Jake, "Man, you're taking this way too seriously! So this book has a few weird coincidences, so what?" Really, I wanted to. Maybe I should have.

But there's something in me that has never trusted weird coincidences.

I looked up to see Jake giving me a look like, 'Well?'

"You know what?" I said. "Maybe that crazy kid wasn't so crazy after all."


	6. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 (Jake)

"Speak of the devil," I said to Marco as I noticed Tobias approaching us.

Tobias looked even worse than he had when I'd met him in the bathroom. Not that he looked like he was hurt, this time. He looked like he'd just seen a ghost.

"What happened?" I asked him, bewildered. That look in his eyes was seriously creeping me out. Like he'd witnessed something that was completely beyond belief.

"It's tonight," he whispered harshly to me as soon as he was close enough. "It's all going to begin tonight."

"What . . . you mean the book?" I asked. He nodded jerkily. "How do you know?" I whispered.

"I . . . well," he said, then suddenly gave a nervous half-smile, as if amused by a joke he'd just thought of. "Let's just say a little birdie told me." When I didn't get the joke, he added, "You know. Book thirteen," as if that was supposed to clarify what he meant.

I had no idea what he was talking about, or what the hell "book thirteen" meant. I guess he saw the confusion on my face, because he said, "I . . . I met my future self last night."

Marco spoke up. "Whoa! You met your future self? You asked about stocks, right? Tell me you asked him about the winning lottery numbers, at least." It was fairly obvious from his mocking tone that he didn't believe Tobias, and he still wasn't taking the whole situation very seriously. Which, coming from Marco, shouldn't have been a surprise.

Tobias rolled his eyes, and whispered, "Careful, Marco. Remember to keep your voice down."

"Why are we whispering, anyway?" Marco whispered.

"Because _they_ might be listening," Tobias replied with a perfectly straight face.

Marco raised an eyebrow and looked at me, but I waved my hand at him, telling him to ignore it for now, that it would be explained later.

Something bugged me about what Tobias had said earlier. "So, wait, was your future self . . . a bird? Does that mean you get stuck in morph? I mean, I guess I thought, since we've read the books, I thought we could somehow stop that from happening. Right?"

Tobias sighed. "I'm afraid it's not that simple, Jake. It _has_ to happen that way. There are certain things that have to happen, that won't happen if I stay human. The Hork-bajir colony, the whole thing about the Anti-Morphing Ray . . . I have no choice." He shrugged helplessly.

He seemed like he was way too willing to just give in to his fate. It actually annoyed me a little, that he would just accept it so easily. "Look, Tobias-" I began.

During our whole conversation up to this point, Marco had been looking back and forth between Tobias and me, as if he were trying to decide which of us was crazier. Then his vision shifted to something behind us, and he interrupted me. "Hey, Jake, it's your cousin," he said matter-of-factly.

I turned around. Indeed, there was Rachel, with Cassie in tow. I waved to them, trying not to look too stunned that they were here. _Just another weird coincidence to add to the list, _I thought. Part of me still didn't quite believe that this was all real, and so I kept being surprised at each little thing that fell into place.

Tobias grabbed the Animorphs book from Marco. "You know your line, right?" he asked me as he flipped through the pages.

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. It was so ridiculous. This guy thought this was all some sort of play!

"What's so funny?" Rachel asked suspiciously as she came over.

"Oh, nothing," I said, getting control but still snickering a little. "By the way, do you want us to walk you home? You shouldn't go through the construction site alone," I said. Then I added, with a wink for Tobias, "You know, being girls and all."

--

By the (quite enthousiastic) recent request of atlastme, I have finally resumed writing this story. Sorry for the long hiatus. Along with most of my other stories, this was on my to-do list.

atlastme: I hope you won't be offended if I don't use most of your suggestions. I like to write my own stories. But you've definitely given me some interesting food for thought.


	7. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 (Rachel)

"Are you going to come and protect us, you big strong m-a-a-a-n?" I sneered.

Suddenly, Jake wasn't laughing anymore. He snatched a book from some blond boy I didn't know, who had just taken it from Jake's friend Marco. Jake opened the book, read a line or two, and went pale.

"What the . . . " I said, bewildered. I glanced at Cassie, as if she might be in on whatever was going on. But she only shrugged.

"What the hell is going on?" I demanded, starting to get annoyed.

In response, Jake shoved the book towards me, and pointed to one particular line. There, on the page, were the exact words I had just uttered.

Cassie gently nudge me aside so she could get a view, and gasped. Then she stared at me like it had somehow been my doing.

"If someone doesn't explain what's going on in the next five seconds, you'll all be sorry," I threatened.

The blond kid spoke up. "These books are full of weird coincidences like that," he said, like it was no big deal. "All five of us are in them. I'll explain it better later, but right now it's time to go. We have to get to the construction site. _Now_."

Jake looked like he might be sick, but he nodded. I was starting to think that maybe this was all some sort of bizarre prank. Had Marco put Jake up to this? Were there a bunch of other kids in freaky costumes waiting in the construction site to scare us? Whatever. I wasn't scared of any prank. And I was sure as hell going to find out what was going on.

"Lead the way," I said to the blond kid. Cassie looked a little more worried. As though maybe we should think for a moment about doing this.

But the blond guy did, in fact, lead the way. And the rest of us followed.

We got as far as the edge of the construction site, and then the blond kid stopped. He was looking up into the sky, so I followed his gaze. I didn't see anything.

"Is this really the time for stargazing?" I said sarcastically.

"We're probably just early," he said, not even giving me his full attention. But then, as if on an afterthought, he pulled his eyes away from the stars and looked at me. "I'm Tobias, by the way."

"Charmed," I said. "Rachel."

"Yeah. I know," Tobias said, and then went back to looking at the sky.

"What do you mean, you know?" I demanded. "Are you saying you already knew my name?"

"The books said so. I also know that you have two little sisters named Sara and Jordan, you like gymnastics and shopping, and you have a stuffed bear named Bobo."

"Oh, haha, I get it," I said, rolling my eyes. "Jake told you a bunch of stuff about me, and now you're trying to freak me out by making me think you're psychic or something. Honestly, Jake, did you really think I would fall for-"

"Look!" Tobias suddenly yelled, excited. He was pointing at the sky. I looked up without even thinking, just on instinct. He was pointing at a moving pinpoint of light. Whoop-dee-doo, wonder-boy had spotted an airplane. I was just about to deliver my congratulations, when I realized it didn't look quite right for an airplane, after all. The light looked more blue than any airplane I'd ever seen before, and it was moving way too fast.

I heard frenzied footfalls, and tore my gaze from the sky to see Tobias running wildly towards where the light seemed to be heading. I figured I should probably follow, if only to make sure he didn't hurt himself. I guess Jake, Marco, and Cassie came to the same conclusion, because in a few seconds we were all chasing after Tobias.

Even as we were running, I noticed the light was getting brighter. Was it landing? I quickly glanced upward. Yes, the light was definitely getting bigger. Whatever it was, it looked like it would land right here in the construction site!

I stopped. Tobias stopped too, a few yards ahead of me. All of us were looking up, now, bewildered by this thing that was descending out of the sky.

It was close enough to see what it looked like, now. It was a pod, sort of like an egg, with a long shaft extending from the back and these little stubby wings that glowed with the blue light we'd seen. There was a weapon of some sort curved up over the top. At least, I guessed it was a weapon. It looked like a stinger. The whole ship was about the size of a school bus.

"It's stopping," I said, dazed by what I was seeing. No way was this one of Marco's pranks.

"I think it sees us," Marco said. "Should we run? Maybe we should run home and get a camera. Do you know how much money we could get for a video of a real UFO?"

"No, don't run. And definitely don't videotape this," Tobias said. He, alone out of all of us, didn't seem at all shocked by any of this. In fact, it seemed almost as if he'd expected it.

The ship hovered directly overhead, and I could feel my hair standing on end from the static electricity that was crackling through the air.

"What do you think it is?" Marco asked, sounding much more nervous now.

"It's Elfangor," Tobias said. I could hear a note of sadness in his voice when he said the name 'Elfangor.'

"Who?" I asked, confused. Did Tobias really know what was going on, or was he just crazy?

"You'll see," Tobias replied.

The ship touched the ground, and the lights went off. I could feel my hair settle back down along my neck.

"We should tell someone," Marco said. "I mean, this is kind of major, you know? Spaceships don't just land in the construction site every day. We should call the cops or the army or the president or something. We'd be totally famous. We'd get to be on Letterman for sure."

"No," Jake said, his voice wavering in awe at what was happening. "Don't go anywhere."

Tobias stepped forward, even though he was already the closest one to the ship. He was getting so close to it that I was a little worried for him. What if it turned out to be hostile?

"It's safe. We won't hurt you," Tobias said gently to the spaceship.

There was no answer. Tobias waited a moment and said, "Please come out. We won't hurt you."

((I know.))


End file.
